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Willie Davis Is Dead at 69; Was Snider’s Successor

Willie Davis, who succeeded Duke Snider as the center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers and used his blazing speed to steal 20 or more bases 11 straight years, led the National League in triples twice and set a record of three stolen bases in a World Series game, was found dead on Tuesday at his home in Burbank, Calif. He was 69.

The Dodgers announced the death. The police gave no cause but said foul play did not appear to be involved, The Associated Press reported.

Frank McCourt, the owner of the Dodgers, said in a statement that Davis was “one of the most talented players ever to wear a Dodgers uniform.” Davis played 14 seasons for the Dodgers, on teams that were almost immediately the stuff of legend. Among his teammates were Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Maury Wills. His 31-game hitting streak in 1969 is still a team record. It was the longest streak in the majors since Dom DiMaggio’s 34 games in 1949 for the Boston Red Sox.

Over his career, he played more than 2,200 games in center field, was a two-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner for his defense. He won World Series rings in 1963 and 1965, stealing three bases in Game 5 of the 1965 Series. On one steal, he had to crawl into second base after stumbling and falling.

In the 1966 World Series, which the Dodgers lost in four games to the Baltimore Orioles, Davis set the unenviable record of committing three errors in one inning. He lost one fly ball in the sun, dropped the next one, then overthrew third base.

Photo

Center fielder Willie Davis.Credit
Focus on Sport — Getty Images

William Henry Davis was born on April 15, 1940, in Mineral Springs, Ark. His family moved to Los Angeles, where he became a world-class track star at Roosevelt High School. He once ran a 9.5-second 100-yard dash and set a city record in the long jump.

The Dodgers signed him after he graduated in 1958. Playing the next year for the Reno Silver Sox, a Class C minor league team, he scored from first base on a single nine times in one season.

He made his debut with the Dodgers in 1960, and combined with Wills to dazzle the National League with speed. Some called Davis the second coming of Willie Mays. He had a career-high 42 stolen bases in 1964. Dodgers fans loved how his hat flew off when he ran.

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But he was a loner who sometimes chanted Buddhist mantras before and after games.

For all his speed and obvious ability, sportswriters sometimes questioned why Davis was not even better. Jim Murray, the syndicated sports columnist for The Los Angeles Times, suggested that Davis had tinkered with his batting stance too much.

“Willie, you see, did imitations,” Murray wrote. “The only way you could tell it wasn’t Stan Musial was when he popped up.”

Davis went on to play for the Montreal Expos, the Texas Rangers, the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Diego Padres and the California Angels. He last played in the major leagues for the Angels in 1979, making two pinch-hitting appearances in the American League Championship Series. Afterward, he played in Mexican and Japanese leagues before leaving the game in the early 1980s.

In his heyday, his fame as a Dodger led to appearances on television shows like “The Flying Nun” and “Mister Ed,” usually as himself.

An obituary on March 10 about Willie Davis, who succeeded Duke Snider as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ center fielder, misstated, in some copies, the surname of a longtime sports columnist at The Los Angeles Times who wrote critically about Davis. He was Jim Murray, not Maury.

Correction: March 15, 2010

An obituary on Wednesday about Willie Davis, who succeeded Duke Snider as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ center fielder, erroneously credited Davis with franchise records in several categories. His career totals in those categories were records for the Los Angeles Dodgers only, not for the Dodger franchise, which was originally located in Brooklyn. Zack Wheat, not Davis, holds the franchise records for hits, at-bats, triples and total bases; Pee Wee Reese holds the record for runs; Duke Snider holds the record for extra-base hits. The obituary also incorrectly described one of Davis’s World Series accomplishments. He stole three bases in one game in the 1965 Series, not three bases in one inning.

A version of this article appears in print on March 10, 2010, on Page B19 of the New York edition with the headline: Willie Davis, 69, Is Dead; Was Snider’s Successor. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe